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Really? I'm somewhere in between JLPT 1 and 2, and my Japanese skills have netted me a few job offers.

Hacking away at a startup is way better than dealing with the sheer amounts of bullshit they shovel over here, though. :)

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The jump between JLPT 2 to JLPT 1 was huge. I'm not sure if it's still that way, I heard it's been expanded to 5 levels now. I worked for 18 months in Japan, but if I'm going to work 12 hour days, I would rather be doing it at a startup with a little variety in the work (and stock options).

Definitely; that's why I didn't take the JLPT 1 last year. I still need to rely too much on a dictionary when reading the paper or novels. The kanji aren't much of a problem, but my vocabulary isn't yet big enough to read in detail.

I've done a few previous JLPT 1 exams, and the vocab is the only place I'm lacking; I can usually narrow down the reading comprehension questions to 'one of these two', but 50% isn't a passing score. :)

Other than 'keep studying', any tips for helping me over the hump?

You probably know this, but there is a mountain of bullshit to deal with at startup companies and in the IT field in general. I think you'll quickly find that bullshit is everywhere.

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